Election Day thoughts

Today was one of those off- off-year Election Days -- no major races in our quiet suburban community, just a bunch of ballot proposals and a few local contests. We got up at the crack of dawn so we could be among the first voters at the polling place. The event sparked a few observations, as it usually does, since we are “students” of both politics and history.

Because there were no “glamour” contests (president, governor or even mayor) voter turnout today will probably be very low. This is unfortunate, because local contests such as tax levies, ballot proposals for changes to local government structure, and city council and school board elections have the most immediate impact on the everyday lives of the average voter.

I am continuously awed at how seriously we take the process of our elections. The folks that man the front lines (i.e., the polling places) are ordinary people who sit through training on the election-system de jur, get up at a god-awful time on election day to set up the voting booths and equipment, put in 12-15 hours more to make sure everyone who wants to vote can, submit the results to the proper authority, and then dismantle everything. Many of them do this time after time, perhaps giving up vacation time out of their real jobs. They do this no matter how many or how few people turn out to vote. And when you consider the potential for disaster, the fact that a (very) large percentage of the time things go off without a hitch is truly amazing.

So kudos to the polling place workers, those uncelebrated ordinary citizens who are the real cogs in our election machinery.